P A R T C D e c i s i o n u n d e r A p p e a l T h e a p p e l l a n t a p p e a l s t h e J u n e 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 r e c o n s i d e D e v e l o p m e n t a n d S o c i a l I n n o v a t i o n ( M i n i s t r y ) , i n w r e c e i v e d d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e f o r w h i c h h e w a s n o t n o n e x e m p t a s s e t l e v e l s ) f o r t h e p e r i o d f r o m F e b r u t h e E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D r e s p o n s i b l e t o r e p a y t o t h e M i n i s t r y . P A R T D R e l e v a n t L e g i s l a t i o n E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b E m p l o y m e n t a n d A s s i s t a n c e f o r P e r s o n s w i t h D i s a b 2 9 . E AA T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L r a t i o n d e c i s i o n o f t h e M i n i s t r y o f S o c i a l h i c h t h e M i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t e l i g i b l e i n t h e a m o u n t o f $ 3 , 6 2 5 . 6 8 ( d u e t o h a v i n g a ry 2 0 1 4 t o M a y 2 0 1 4 , p u r s u a n t t o S e c t i o n 1 8 o f i s a b i li t i e s A c t ( E A P W D A ) , f o r w h i c h h e i s i l i t i e s A c t ( E A P W D A ) , s e c t i o n 1 8 . il i t i e s R e g u l a t i o n ( E A P W D R ) , S e c t i o n s 1 , 1 0 a n d
P ART E S umma ry of Fact s The app ellant r eceives d isabilit y assi stanc e as a sin th e rec ons ide rati on consis ted o f : • Overpa ym e n t not i fica tion to the ap pel lant f r om • Mini stry Overpaym ent char t for th e a p pel lant's assi 2014, p ri n ted Ju n e 6, 2014 ; • C o py of information f rom the app ella nt' s bank, ending Mar ch 31, 2 014 (2 pa ges), portfoli o account tr Janu ary 1 , 201 4 thr ough Ma rc h 2 8, 20 14 ( 1 pag ac count from October 1 6 , 2 013 thro ugh Nove 201 4 throu gh Apri l 16, 20 14 ( 1 O pa ges ) ; • Copy of a page f rom the M inistry's we bs ite "BC Em A ss ets" u pdate d Oc tobe r 1, 2 0 1 2; and • Request for R e consideration dat ed June 18, On Jun e 6, 2014, th e Ministry det ermine d t ha t th e a as sis tance fo r th e m onth s of February through May 2014 d etermin ed that t he appe l la n t h ad financ i a l as sets in h ass e t levels fo r a sin g le recipient on disab il ity assistance. T was requi red to r epay th e $3,625.68 amount. At the heari n g, the appe l lant and h is father d i d n ot di sav in gs account (" T F SA") w hi c h he a n d his father op saving s accou nt. The appe l lant and h is f at her con trib 2013, J anuary 2 014 , Februa ry 2014, M a rch 2 014 , April 20 t h e amou n t s in t he T FS A and t h e appe llant' s savings inve s t iga tion. The appe l lant's fath er con f irmed a t t h e appe lla nt' s TFSA and tra n sferr e d the fund s t o a Reg ear ly Ju ne 201 4 (when adv i sed of t h e over payme nt Th e ap pellant h as rec entl y graduated from a certi f icate progr comput er ani mation (he sho w e d th e pane l his dipl oma). to assist his son complete his post-secondary education and get started in the business of computer animation, the family helped the appellant set up an account to save money to repay his student loans and h ave some money to start w orking. Th e appellant's fa bank and set up the TFSA on the appellant's behalf. think to conta ct t he Mini s t r y to d etermine the best course of act h ad no knowledge the l egi s lation re qui re d him t o set -the appellant's father took responsibility for the error of setting up a TFSA for his son and sa had no knowledge that he was required to put funds into an RDSP overpayment in disability assistance. The appellant and his father told the completed his Ministry month l y reports and put them into the mail slot at the Ministry office -the appellant did not discuss his monthly reporting requirements with a Ministry worker -and the appellant did not indicate on his monthly report that he had money in a TFSA. pointed to the Ministrv's website information where an asset exemption of $5,000.00 is listed as EMT 003(10/06/01) I APPEA' gle recip ient. T he evidenc e before th e Min istry at the Min istr y dated Ju ne 6, 20 14; sta nce months February 2014 t hrough May in c lu d i n g a portfoli o stat emen t f or t he p e riod ansa ct i o n d eta il for t he peri od fr om e) , ban k state ment s for the appe l la n t' s savings mber 4, 2 013 (2 pa ges ) and from Jan uar y 1, plo yme nt and A ssista nc e R a te Tables 2 014. pp ell ant had bee n is sue d $3,625.68 in d i s ability for which he w as n o t eligi b l e. T he M inist r y is b ank acco unts th a t were ove r the eli gible h e Minis t r y informe d the a pp ell ant that he s pute that t he appell ant h ad cash i n a tax f r ee ened for him in D ecem ber 2 013, as wel l as in his uted t o t he TFSA fo r the m o n t h s of Decembe r 14 an d May 2014 and they d o no t d isp u te acco unt n oted by t he Ministry i n it s hearing that he and the a p pell an t clos ed th e is t ered Dis a b il ity Savings P l an ( ''RDSP") as of b y the Minist r y ). am at a post-seco ndary institution for The appellant's father testified that in ord er t her testified th a t he went to the The appellan t 's father testified that he d i d no t i o n for h is son's finances and sa id he u p a n RDSP ( a s o p po sed to a TFSA) for his son id h e otherwise his son would incur an panel t hat the appellant The appellant's father
" m a x i m u m f o r a r e s e r v e a c c o u n t e s t a b l i s h e d t o m e e x e m p t . " T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f a t h e r s a i d h e f e l t t h i s i n f o s o n ' s T F S A a n d s a v i n g s a c c o u n t w e r e t o m e e t a n a T h e M i n i s t ry d e t e r m i n e d t h a t , b a s e d o n t h e a p p e l l a e x e m p t a s s e t l e v e l s : $ 8 , 4 8 2 . 6 9 o n D e c e m b e r 3 1 , 2 o n F e b r u a r y 2 8 , 2 0 1 4 ; a n d $ 8 , 9 2 2 . 0 9 o n M a r c h 3 1 , r e q u i r e d t o r e p o r t a c h a n g e i n h i s a s s e t s b y t h e t h 5 d c h a n g e o c c u r r e d . T h e M i n i s t r y a p p l i e d t h e $ 5 , 0 0 0 . d e t e r m i n e d t h a t h e h a d r e c e i v e d $ 3 , 6 2 5 . 6 8 i n d i s a b d u r i n g t h e m o n t h s o f F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 4 t h r o u g h M a y 2 M i n i s t r y . E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 1 )I A P P E A L e t a n t i c i p a t e d f u t u r e b u s i n e s s e x p e n s e s t o b e r m a t i o n w a s v a g u e a s h e f e l t t h e f u n d s i n h i s n t i c i p a t e d f u t u r e b u s i n e s s e x p e n s e . n t ' s b a n k r e c o r d s , h e h a d t h e f o l l o w i n g n o n 0 1 3 ; $ 8 , 4 0 4 . 2 5 o n J a n u a r y 3 1 , 2 0 1 4 ; $ 9 , 1 7 1 . 2 5 2 0 1 4 . T h e M i n i s t r y n o t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t i s a y o f t h e m o n t h f o l l o w i n g t h e m o n t h i n w h i c h t h e 0 0 a s s e t e x e m p t i o n t o t h e a p p e l l a n t a n d i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e f o r w h i c h h e w a s n o t e l i g i b l e 0 1 4 a n d t h a t h e i s l i a b l e t o r e p a y t h i s t o t h e
I APPEA PART F -Reasons for Panel Decision The issue on this appeal is whether the Ministry's June 25, 2014 reconsideration decision, in which the Ministry determined that the appellant received an overpayment of his disability assistance in the amount of $3,625.68 for the months of February 2014 through May 2014 due to having non-exempt asset levels, pursuant to Section 18 of the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act (EAPWDA), is reasonably supported by the evidence or a reasonable application of the legislation in the circumstances of the appellant. Legislation Section 18 of the EAPWDA addresses overpayments and states: (1) If disability assistance, hardship assistance or a supplement is provided to or for a family unit that is not eligible for it, recipients who are members of the family unit during the period for which the overpayment is provided are liable to repay to the government the amount or value of the overpayment provided for that period. (2) The minister's decision about the amount a person is liable to repay under subsection (1) is not appealable under section 16(3) [reconsideration and appeal rights]. Pursuant to Section 1 of the EAPWDR, "asset" means "cash assets" (under subsection (c) of the definition of "asset") and "cash assets" means "money standing to the credit of the person with a savings institution" (as set out in subsection (b) of the definition of "case assets"). The appellant does not dispute that the money in his TFSA at the relevant time is an asset. Section 10 of the EAPWDR addresses asset limits and subsection 10(2)(a) of the EAPWDR provides that a family unit is not eligible for disability assistance if a sole recipient has assets with a total value of more than $5,000.00. Subsection 10(1) lists assets that are exempt for the purposes of subs. 10(2) and includes the following: (x) for a recipient who is participating in a self-employment program funded or established by the minister under section 8 of the Act, (i) up to a maximum of $5,000 kept by the recipient in a separate account described in section 4(2)(b)(ii) of Schedule B, and (ii) up to a maximum of $50,000, or a greater amount approved by the minister, consisting of (A) the value of assets used by the recipient in operating a small business under the self employment program, and (B) a loan that is not greater than the amount contemplated by the recipient's business plan, accepted under section 70.1 of this regulation, and received and used for the purposes set out in the business plan; (y) assets exempted under (i) section 11( 2) [asset development accounts], (ii) section 12(2) [assets held in trust for person with disabilities], or (iii) section 12.1 (2) [temporary exemption of assets for persons with disabilities or person receiving special care]; UD funds held in, or money withdrawn from, a registered disability savings plan. EAAT 003(10/06/01)
S e c t i o n 2 9 o f t h e E A P W D R s e t s o u t t h e m o n t h l y r e a s s i s t a n c e a n d s t a t e s a s f o l l o w s : F o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f s e c t i o n 1 1 ( 1 ) ( a ) [ r e p o r t i n g o b l i g ( a ) t h e r e p o r t m u s t b e s u b m i t t e d b y t h e 5 t h d m o n t h i n w h i c h o n e o r m o r e o f t h e f o l l o w ( i ) a c h a n g e t h a t i s l i s t e d i n p a r a g r a p h ( b ( b ) t h e i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u i r e d i s a l l o f t h e f o l l o w p r e s c r i b e d u n d e r t h e F o r m s R e g u l a t i o n : ( i ) c h a n g e i n t h e f a m i l y u n i t ' s a s s e t s ; ( i i ) . . . . S u b m i s s i o n s T h e a p p e l l a n t a n d h i s f a t h e r d o n o t d i s p u t e t h a t t h e i n h i s b a n k a c c o u n t s ( h i s T F S A a n d h i s s a v i n g s a c c t h r o u g h M a y 2 0 1 4 . T h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s u b m i s s i o n i s t l e g i s l a t i o n r e q u i r e d t h e a p p e l l a n t t o d e p o s i t h i s m o n e x e m p t i o n l i m i t t h a t i t i s a n h o n e s t m i s t a k e w h i c h t r a n s f e r r i n g t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s m o n e y i n t o i t . T h e a p p e h i s p o s t s e c o n d a r y c e rt i f i c a t e , s o t h a t h e w i l l b e e m a s s i s t a n c e f r o m t h e M i n i s t r y . T h e a p p e l l a n t h a s r e p M i n i s t r y t h e o v e r p a y m e n t i n d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e a t t h e c o m p u t e r a n i m a t i o n i n d u s t r y i s c h a l l e n g i n g a n d I n i t s s u b m i s s i o n s , t h e M i n i s t r y e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e a $ 5 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 w e r e n o t e x e m p t u n d e r a n y o f t h e i t e m s f o l l o w i n g r e a s o n s : • u n t i l J u n e 2 0 1 4 , t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s f u n d s w e r e n 1 0 ( 1 ) U i ) ) ; • t h e f u n d s w e r e n o t h e l d i n a t r u s t u n d e r s . 1 2 r e p a y s t u d e n t l o a n s a n d f o r w h e n h e s t a r t e d s p e c i a l c a r e u n d e r s . 1 2 . 1 ( 2 ) o f t h e E A P W D R ( i i i ) ) ; a n d • t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n a s e l f e M i n i s t r y ( t h e e x e m p t i o n s e t o u t i n s u b s . 1 0 ( 1 ) T h e M i n i s t r y a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e a p p e a n d s a i d t h a t i f t h e a p p e l l a n t h a d r e p o r t e d t h e c a s h h i s m o n t h l y r e p o r t i n J a n u a r y o r F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 4 , t h e a s s e t s a n d a d v i s e d t h e a p p e l l a n t t o t r a n s f e r t h e f u n d t o a p p l y t h e l e g i s l a t i o n t o t h e a p p e l l a n t ' s s i t u a t i o n . T a s s e t s i n e x c e s s o f $ 5 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 f o r t h e m o n t h s o f F e b h e r e c e i v e d d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e M e l i g i b l e t o r e c e i v e t h e d i s a b i l i t y a s s i s t a n c e f o r F e b r u 1 8 ( 1 ) o f t h e E A P W D A , h e i s n o w r e a u i r e d t o r e o a v t E M T 0 0 3 ( 1 0 / 0 6 / 0 I )I A P P E A i p o r t i n g r e q u i r e m e n t f o r a l l r e c i p i e n t s o f d i s a b i l i t y a t i o n s ] o f t h e A c t , a y o f t h e c a l e n d a r m o n t h f o l l o w i n g t h e c a l e n d a r i n g o c c u r : ) ( i ) t o ( v ) , i n g , a s r e q u e s t e d i n t h e m o n t h l y r e p o r t f o r m a p p e l l a n t h a d c a s h a s s e t s i n e x c e s s o f $ 5 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 o u n t ) d u r i n g t h e t i m e p e r i o d f r o m D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 h a t h e a n d h i s f a t h e r d i d n o t k n o w t h a t t h e e y t o a n R D S P i n o r d e r t o a v o i d e x c e e d i n g h i s t h e y h a v e n o w r e c t i f i e d b y o p e n i n g a n R D S P a n d l l a n t i s t r y i n g t o g a i n s k i l l s a n d t r a i n i n g , t h r o u g h p l o y e d a n d n o l o n g e r h a v e t o r e c e i v e d i s a b i l i t y a i d h i s s t u d e n t l o a n s a n d s a y s t h a t t o r e p a y t h e t h i s t i m e w h e n h e i s t r y i n g t o e s t a b l i s h h i m s e l f i n f e e l s l i k e h e i s b e i n g p e n a l i z e d . p p e l l a n t ' s c a s h a s s e t s o v e r a n d a b o v e t h e s e t o u t i n s u b s e c t i o n 1 0 ( 1 ) o f t h e E A P W D R f o r t h e o t i n a n R D S P ( t h e e x e m p t i o n s e t o u t i n s u b s . ( 2 ) o f t h e E A P W D R ( t h e f u n d s w e r e s a v e d t o w o r k i n g ) a n d t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t r e c e i v i n g ( t h e e x e m p t i o n s s e t o u t i n s u b s . 1 0 ( 1 ) ( y ) ( i i ) a n d m p l o y m e n t p r o g r a m f u n d e d o r e s t a b l i s h e d b y t h e ( x ) ) . l l a n t a n d h i s f a t h e r t h a t i t w a s a n h o n e s t m i s t a k e a s s e t s i n h i s T F S A a n d h i s s a v i n g s a c c o u n t o n M i n i s t r y w o u l d h a v e b e c o m e a w a r e o f t h e c a s h s t o a n R D S P . T h e M i n i s t r y s a i d i t w a s r e q u i r e d h e M i n i s t r y n o t e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t h a d c a s h r u a r y 2 0 1 4 t h r o u g h M a y 2 0 1 4 , d u r i n g w h i c h t i m e i n i s t r y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t a r y 2 0 1 4 t h r o u g h M a y 2 0 1 4 a n d , u n d e r s e c t i o n h e M i n i s t r v $ 3 , 6 2 5 . 6 8 ( t h e a m o u n t o f d i s a b i l i t v
I APPEA assistance which he was overpaid). Decision The panel accepts the evidence of the appellant and his father that the appellant did not intentionally fail to report his cash assets to the Ministry. However, the panel finds that the appellant had cash assets, as defined in s. 1 of the EAPWDR, in excess of $5,000.00 in his TFSA and his savings account for the months of December 2013 through May 2014. The appellant does not dispute this. The panel finds that the appellant did not report the cash assets in his TFSA and his savings account to the Ministry for the months of December 2013, January 2014, February 2014 and March 2014, as required by section 29 of the EAPWDR. The appellant and his father did not dispute that the appellant did not qualify for any of the exemptions under section 10(1) of the EAPWDR, agreeing that the funds were not in an RDSP at the relevant time or held in a trust for the appellant, the appellant was not receiving special care and he was not participating in a Ministry funded or established self employment program during the relevant time. Accordingly, the panel finds that the appellant received disability assistance for the months of February 2014, March 2014, April 2014 and May 2014 for which he was not eligible as he had cash assets in excess of $5,000.00 in his TFSA and his savings account during the applicable reporting period for those months. Therefore the panel finds reasonable the Ministry's determination that the appellant received disability assistance for the months of February 2014 through May 2014 for which he was not eligible due to assets in excess of $5,000.00, and the legislation provides that the appellant is responsible to repay this overpayment. As provided bys. 18(2) of the EAPWDA, this panel cannot address the amount of overpayment that the appellant is liable to repay. Accordingly, the panel finds that the Ministry's reconsideration decision is reasonably supported by the evidence and is a reasonable application of the applicable enactment in the circumstances of the appellant. The panel confirms the Ministry's decision. EAAT 003(1 0/06/01)
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.